Week 5 of the 2026 college football season features 59 games from Thursday, Oct. 1, through Saturday, Oct. 3. Athlon Sports is back with predictions and picks for every contest.
The fifth full weekend of the ’26 season starts with two contests on Thursday night, as Western Kentucky plays at New Mexico State and North Texas and Tulsa meet in a critical American Conference matchup. Three games are on tap for Friday, including Pitt-Virginia Tech and Penn State-Northwestern.
A full slate of action on Saturday kicks off with Notre Dame-North Carolina, Alabama-Mississippi State, UCF-Houston, West Virginia-Iowa State, Michigan-Minnesota, Navy-Air Force and Vanderbilt-Georgia in the first window. The afternoon slate features Ohio State-Iowa, Florida-Missouri, Auburn-Tennessee, California-UNLV, Louisville-NC State, Kentucky-South Carolina and Maryland-Nebraska.
The first night window includes BYU-TCU, Arkansas-Texas A&M, Miami-Clemson, Texas Tech-Colorado and Washington-USC. The late-night window is headlined by Fresno State-Washington State, Baylor-Arizona State, Texas State-San Diego State and Cincinnati-Arizona.
Athlon Sports’ Steven Lassan, Tyler Schuster and Kyle Wood make predictions for all 59 games in Week 5.
College Football Picks: Expert Predictions for Every Game in Week 5
